Weekly Menu

I forgot to post last week, and considering the fact that is the only post I do consistently, I try not to miss it.  And, to top it off, I made some really good meals last week!  I tried a Stromboli Recipe and a Taco Pie recipe both of which were great.

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - I did not have time to put our annual St. Patrick's Day feast so we had Pulled Pork BBQ and homemade fries.

Saturday - We went out to dinner and movie as a family :-)

Sunday - We finally had our annual St. Patrick's Day feast - Stuffed Cabbage, Crash Potatoes, Green Beans and mac and Cheese

Monday - Cola Chicken, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and fried rice

Tuesday - Enchiladas, salad, chips and salsa

Wednesday - Out before AWANA

Thursday - As I'm sitting here on Sunday night writing this post late and cannot remember what I planned for Thursday . . . .maybe chicken??  I have no idea. HA!

Thats it!

Weekly Menu

This past week didn't go exactly as planned.  Nothing major just Darryl working several really late days which makes me not want to cook dinner :-)  It's ok, it just allows me to shift some meals again and saves on the coming weeks shopping.

So, here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, and Corn

Saturday - I have nothing planned so we will probably get pizza.

Sunday - Swiss Steak, Buttered Noodles, Butternut Squash, Bavarian Inn Macaroni Salad and Rolls

Monday - Scalloped Potatoes, Pork Chops and Mac and Cheese

Tuesday - Double Crunch Orange Chicken and Fried Rice

Wednesday - It's Awana Night!

Thursday - Sloppy Joes and Baked Beans

Weekly Menu

We ended up with a slightly busy week which always impacts my meal plan so you will notice a few "carry over" meals from last week showing up in this weeks menu.

Friday - Crockpot Beef and Noodles (one of those carry overs!)

Saturday - We have a family birthday party today so I don't have to cook :-) Well, techinally I do.  I'm taking Salad Bar fixin's, and a couple of snacks.

Sunday - After church, the boys and I will grab something since Darryl will be working; and have meatball soup after he gets home

Monday - Homemade Chicken Alfredo Pizza.  This is an old favorite that we haven't had in a long time! (This is kind of a carry over - I had planned to make chicken alfredo last week but have turned it into pizza instead.)

Tuesday - Amish Baked Chicken, Buttered Noodles, and green beans

Wednesday - It's Awana Night!

Thursday - Country Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Corn and Rolls

Expectations

I learned something this Valentine's Day.  Something about expectations.    :-)   My husband surprised me with Flowers (on the counter with a card at 3:30 in the morning); I planned some fun themed food including Heart Pancakes; made a great dinner and everyone got some little gifts.  Seems perfect right?

Expectations set by kids are sometimes hard to achieve.

I learned today that my kids expect a celebration for a Holiday.  Not just some food and a gift but to really celebrate.  I had to think about where this came from and realized it came from me.

In past years, I did a lot more planning and put together lots of fun things like crafts, snacks, I ordered fun t-shirts and spent time making it out to be fun all day long.  Somewhere along the way I lost that desire; that ability to put things together.  It's a mix of being too busy, still trying to dig through the surprises of grief, and homeschooling that have nixed my creative planning excitement.  Oh, don't worry, I have Pinterest boards aplenty with ideas enough to last years but I have struggled with getting them off the boards into creation.

In reality, St. Patricks Day is one of the most fun holidays for me to prep for so I've decided to use this is my saving grace.  I'm going to start some planning now.  We have fun things we always do (like hide Rolo Candies which the boys are still convinced the Leprechaun hides!) but I want to make it more of a day of celebration.  No "real" school, just learning activities related to the day.

On a broader scale though, aren't we all guilty of setting expectations and then feeling let down when they don't happen?  I've struggled with that for my whole life. I think it comes from being a planner.  I plan and plan and plan but then when my plan doesn't work just right, I get the let down of that unmet expectation.  I've gotten better with this through the years thankfully.  I'm so thankful that Jesus isn't an expectation He just . .. is.  He is always near; He's always thinking of me; He has my best interest in mind.  I'm slowly learning to put my plans in His hands and trust him with the result - or maybe I'm really trusting Him to plan for me and I just accept what comes.

Weekly Menu

This past week threw me a curve ball because I ended up with the stomach flu on Sunday (Yes, Superbowl Sunday) so it changed the menu for the week.  Not so much that we didn't eat what I planned for Superbowl Sunday, but rather we ate it throughout the week.

So, here's the plan for the coming week and hopefully everyone stays healthy.

Friday - I'm making the last of my Superbowl Recipes - a Taco Pizza (Kinda like a veggie pizza) and Broccoli Dip.  Both are new recipes so I hope they are good!   I also have some chicken drummies that I will probably cook just as something I know we love!

Saturday - Ham and Cheddar Quiche, Asparagus, Homemade Applesauce and Scones

Sunday - Velvetta Cheeseburger Mac

Monday - Stuffed Shells with Cheese, Parmesan Roasted Carrots and Breadsticks

Tuesday - Asian Sesame Sliders and Corn and Broccoli Rice Casserole

Wednesday - AWANA night so the boys and I grab something out

Thursday - Dill Shrimp and Pasta

Weekly Menu

Menu planning and grocery shopping are going way to well lately so I'm excepting to get bored with it all soon HA!  That's what usually happens and then I change things up for a bit.  I figure that summer is coming an that always changes things so maybe I can hold out and keep things this way for a bit.

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - My mom is here :-)  So she and the boys are going to have a date and Darryl and I are meeting for a dinner date.

Saturday - I'm going scrapbooking for the day.  My mom will be here and she is making Homemade Bean Soup - something she and Darryl both like but I do not!!

Sunday - It's Superbowl!  We are getting treated to lunch by my mom - which is so nice because otherwise I feel like I cook all day on Superbowl Sunday.  Instead, we can enjoy a nice easy lunch and then come home and enjoy our Superbowl food around dinner time.  The plan is to have Chili for Chili Dogs and Sloppy Joes - which can be eaten on its own or on a hot dog instead.  I have a couple new recipes I want to try - one is for a Taco Pizza - it's the same concept as a Veggie Pizza but with taco meat instead.  Also a hot broccoli cheese dip.  The other things will be cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, fruit and dip and then Peanut Butter Goodies and Floats for Dessert.  It sounds like a lot more than it is PLUS I'm planning leftovers for dinner on Monday.  (And the Chili was for dinner on Thursday so it is actually already leftovers!

Now, for the rest of the week I have an "either/or" plan and it goes like this:

On Monday, we'll either have Leftovers or Quiche

On Tuesday we'll either have Quiche or Pork Chops and Fried Rice

On Wednesday - the boys and I eat out before AWANA

On Thursday, we'll have either Pork Chops and Rice, Leftovers, OR Meatball Soup and Bread

Anytime we have a "big" event (Like Superbowl) I try to shop the Fridge/Freezer for the rest of the week and I have 95% of the items needed to make any of my either/or meals.

Also, I find it hard to believe that January flew by.  Maybe it was the warm weather followed by dark, rainy days . . .but here it is the beginning of February already.

Week in a Review

I missed the week in a review last week so this weeks will include a little from the last few weeks.

Last week, we wrapped up school.  We had odds and ends to do like a few journals, an art project, and some writing assignments.  My goal was to finish by Wednesday so I could spend Thursday prepping for Friday School.  That's exactly what happened - on Thursday I spent most of the day working on my class information for the class I'm teaching at Friday School.

Friday, we returned to our Co-Op (Last Semester we went on Thursday).  This semester we are staying the entire day.  The first three hours are spent in classes.  The boys are taking Mechanical Science, A Logic Thinking class, and then Josh is taking french and Nate is taking the class I'm teaching on Maps.

 The boys are also taking Tae Kwon Do again and are doing great. (Excuse their excessively long hair - they have since got haircuts!!)

This week, we started second semester and I created a new schedule.  I laid out their classes daily in a way that works better for us.  We focus on Language Arts in the morning along with their Live Lessons.  In the afternoon we work on the other subjects.  Our days seem to run much smoother and I feel like there is more teaching going on and less "lets get this done as fast as we can".

Josh and Nate (especially Josh) have been a little remorse about the complete and utter lack of snow this winter.  On Thursday, we started to get some flakes so Josh went outside in his coat and sat in the snow.  His excitement grew on Friday when we actually got enough snow that it stuck a little ;-)

On Monday this past week, the boys didn't have school due to teacher in service (yes, even with on-line school their "live" teachers have to wrap up grades) and, because it was the end of the semester, access to the lessons was blocked until Tuesday so I took the boys for much needed haircuts and then we went to the closest McDonald's with a playland and spent a few hours there.  It was a nice break from being home all of the time.

As you may notice, getting a picture a day did not happen!  I'm going to try for that again next week ;-)